There’s nothing quite as beautiful as granite, marble, travertine, and other natural stone surfaces. Unlike tile and other synthetic surfaces, natural stone requires special care and specific cleaning products in order to maintain its beauty. Many people are not aware of this fact and consequently use products that break down and harm their stone surfaces.

In today’s post, we’ll look at several substances that may be slowly damaging the natural stone surfaces in your home. If you need marble repair, granite restoration, or stone restoration of any kind, then get in touch with a member of Concrete & Marble Transformerz. As Los Angeles’ Top Rated Local® stone restoration company, we’ll gladly help you breathe new life into your countertops, flooring, and anywhere else you have natural stone surfaces!

Vinegar

Many homeowners across the United States have vinegar in the cupboards, as it’s been a go-to cleaner for decades. You can use vinegar to clean windows, blinds, coffee makers, and many other surfaces in your home, all without having to purchase expensive chemical cleaning agents. However, when it comes to the natural stone surfaces in your home, it’s better to leave the vinegar in the cupboard. Stones such as marble, limestone, and granite all react negatively when exposed to acidic substances, and vinegar is a highly acidic solution. Even if you’ve invested in marble sealing or a strong granite sealant, vinegar will quickly wear down the seal and make its way into the stone beneath.

Scouring Powders and Creams

Scouring powders and creams are used to clean difficult surfaces, including pots, pans, microwaves, tile, and more. Scouring cleaners act as an abrasive cleaner that scrapes off tough stains, and it’s this effect that will seriously damage your stone surfaces. If you use scouring cleaners, then you’ll probably notice a variety of small scratches that cloud and obscure the surface. These scratches can be buffed out by a stone restoration expert, but it’s always better to avoid the problem completely.

Bleach

Much like vinegar, bleach is an incredibly effective household cleaner with a variety of uses. You can use it to eradicate mold and mildew, sterilize cooking surfaces, shine porcelain, and so much more. However, we recommend leaving the bleach in your cleaning closet whenever you have a stain or spill that needs to be cleaned. Much like vinegar and lemon juice, bleach is highly acidic and will eat away at your sealant and can potentially damage the stone underneath. You don’t want to have to invest in marble sealing or granite repairs more frequently than you need to, so clean up raw meat and other health hazards with a cleaner approved for your surfaces.

Ammonia

Unlike some of the other chemicals we’ve listed here, ammonia can sometimes play an important role in natural stone restoration and maintenance. For instance, you can mix a small amount of ammonia and water together to remove tough stains or soap buildup from your marble. However, we recommend calling a marble cleaning company to do the work for you, as you don’t want to accidentally use too much and damage your investment.

On a related note, never, under any circumstances, mix bleach and ammonia together. Doing so will produce a toxic gas that can be lethal in some cases.

Grout and Tile Cleaner

While grout and tile cleaner can be valuable resources when it comes time to clean your bathroom, these chemicals should never be used on a natural stone surface. Depending on which brand you purchase, the solution may have a large amount of bleach and other acidic substances. Leave these substances in the cleaning closet, too.

Call Los Angeles’ Top Rated Local® Stone Restoration Company

These are just a few of the chemicals you should avoid when you’re cleaning your natural stone surfaces. Keep an eye on our blog page for future posts in which we’ll continue to provide you with information about natural stone care.

Do you need stone cleaning or restoration? Our stone restoration experts can help you with:

Did you know that marble, limestone, travertine, onyx and other calcite based stones are very sensitive to acids? Be sure to avoid acid based cleaning products and spills of acidic liquids. If you do have a spill, try to wipe it up as soon as possible.

Concrete & Marble Transformerz provides concrete, epoxy, marble and natural stone services for the residential, commercial and industrial industries. We currently serve Long Beach, Redondo Beach and the greater Los Angeles County and Orange County metropolitan areas.